field testing of transgenic plants - ut plant sciences.pptVIP

Discussion Questions What are the two overarching objectives for the testing of transgenic plants? What are lower-tiered and upper-tiered testing? Examples? What controls are needed? Discussion Questions Continued What factors would be needed for the risk assessment of a non-agronomic trait, such as pharmaceuticals? How much testing or risk assessment is necessary for a new transgenic crop to be considered “safe”? What is Risk? What is Being Regulated? Why? Presence of the transgene…How does it affect the plant? Phenotype? Performance? Transgenic event Biosafety Concerns– human and environmental welfare “Protect” organic agriculture “Precautionary principle” Non-target effects– killing the good insects by accident Transgene persistence in the environment– gene flow Increased weediness Increased invasiveness Resistance management– insects and weeds Virus recombination Horizontal gene flow Environmental Risk Assessment Scientific Method: Observe, Create Hypothesis, Perform Experiments, Collect Data, Report Initial Evaluation Problem Formulation Tiered Risk Assessment Controlled Experiments and Gathering of Information Risk Evaluation Tiered approach—mainly non-targets Tier 1: Lab Based Experiments Tier 3: Field Studies Goals of Field Research Hypothesis testing Assess potential ecological and biosafety risks (must be environmentally benign) Determine performance under real agronomic conditions (economic benefits) Case of the Monarch Butterfly Impact of Bt maize pollen (MON810) on lepidopteron larvae living on accompanying weeds ACHIM GATHMANN, LUDGER WIROOKS, LUDWIG A. HOTHORN, DETLEF BARTSCH, INGOLF SCHUPHAN* Molecular Ecology: Volume 15 Issue 9 2685, August 2006 Bt and Monarch Risk Model Experimental Goals Does growing of Bt-maize harm non-target Lepidoptera under field conditions? Compare growing of Bt-maize with conventional insecticide treatment Is the presented experimental design a useful approach for monitoring non-target Lepidoptera? *